Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has agreed to help in recruiting autistic youth in the country’s ready-made garment sector, according to newspaper reports. “Like others, autistic people also should have a better and respectable life. To achieve this, BGMEA wants to help them get jobs in the RMG sector and provide related training,” BGMEA President Atiqul Islam said at an event to highlight the cause of autistic people. He sought cooperation from garment manufacturers in the matter, which could only add more glory to the industry. “Then we can say ‘Made in Bangladesh’ with more pride. But it will be possible only when efforts are made together.” Saima Wazed Hossain, chairperson of National Advisory Committee on Autism and NDDs, urged all to deliberate on how autistic people could be turned into a workforce rather than recruiting one or two sporadically. US-licensed school psychologist Saima, the prime minister’s daughter, who spearheads disability campaign in Bangladesh, presented a roadmap on how to employ those “honest, dedicated and loyal” youth. BGMEA organised the event bringing together factory owners, parents of the children with autism, and government officials at its headquarters in Dhaka to raise awareness about those children’s employment. According to UN estimates, more than 80 per cent of adults with autism are unemployed globally, though they have abilities. Sajida Rahman Danny, President of Parents Forum for Differently Able – parents of autistic children – said their children are confronted a challenge when they grow up. “They don’t go to school after a certain age. They have to stay at home unless parents find a suitable job for them,” she said. They were training those children to make them fit for employment.
